After the World
by OmniSchreiber
Summary: "I won't let it end like this. I won't." A one-shot, exploring how Korra might have gone about dealing with being an airbending-only Avatar. No, it's not a suicide-fic... no easy-outs here. There's even some humor splashed in to balance out the drama. Slightly AU and then speculative, from the last five minutes of the finale onwards. Obviously Season 1 SPOILERS everywhere. Enjoy.


** A/N: Hey, I'm not dead. I just got a new job, been watching the new series and seeing where my theories were right and wrong, and also had some possibly terrifying health issues, which are thankfully not as serious as I feared.**

** Anyway, season one of LoK is finished, and while I'm sure I could write an essay on what I did and did not like, the short version is that I found this new series to be a worthy and enjoyable successor to AtlA. Any complaints I have would be entirely preferential or just plain nit-picky.**

**** SPOILERS BELOW ****

** That is, except for the last few minutes of the season finale.**

** We know there's another season coming, so why in the world would you take a whole bunch of perfect plot and character development hooks (Korra's lost bending, Noatak's other victims, her inability to enter the Avatar State **_**even when in dire peril**_**) and toss it out the window with some 'deus ex Aang'? From whom Korra receives full bending, the ability to fix all the other benders, and seemingly flawless control of the Avatar State, all from the laudable effort of **_**crying**_**.**

** Shouldn't the whole next season be about her searching for a way to restore what she lost (retracing Noatak's steps to understand his bloodbending trick, perhaps?) while trying to keep a war-torn city in order? Shouldn't she learn along the way that being the Avatar isn't **_**just**_** about being a bender of four elements? Shouldn't Korra have to – I dunno – suffer a bit more? It sounds sadistic, but the magic 'undo' just utterly killed the impact of having her bending stolen, **_**in the same damn episode**_**.**

** Then again, Aang got an easy-out from deus ex lion-turtle, so it's consistent with Bryke's track record for endings. However, in that case, Aang also spent a lot of time soul-searching first. More to the point, he was clearly about to (begrudgingly) accept killing someone as a means to an end. Korra just... cried.**

** I should point out that I don't believe I know better than the creators of the series; that would be pretty egotistical of me. They're the ones who created the original masterpiece, perceived flaws and all. For every one thing I thought they got wrong, they got a thousand things right. Still, this season's ending was just gut-wrenchingly bad... perhaps a product of rushing, or uncertainty about a follow-up season, or pressure to have a happy ending (they can do provocative, meaningful endings too, see Season 2 of AtlA!). Who knows.**

** So here's this story, which explores (briefly) how Korra might have gone about dealing with being an airbending-only Avatar. No, it's not a suicide-fic... seriously, what's up with all those? It's a pretty poor assessment of her character to suggest that she would 'solve' things that way, even if you try to paint it as some altruistic sacrifice so the world has a 'full-fledged' avatar again (well, you know, in another twelve to twenty-something years, that is).**

** Yeah, so let's see if the actual story is longer than my page-long rant. :P Also, trying 1st person perspective and present tense here, so this should be interesting.**

After the World

The cool, buzzing sensation of Katara's healing water ebbs away from my back and forehead. It's always a strange feeling – to have someone else's chi humming around inside of you – but a welcome and familiar one, in this case. The old woman is like a grandmother to me, and she had been fixing up my scrapes and bruises since I was a little kid.

There are no little bumps or cuts today. My injury is far more severe than that.

I turn, slowly, to face my waterbending mentor, hoping to see some of her legendary hope and optimism in those warm blue eyes, but there is none. I don't even have to attempt firebending to know I can't. Her grim expression tells me everything.

"I'm sorry, Korra. This is beyond my power to heal." Her face pinches as she speaks, as if the admission hurts her as much as it hurts me. Maybe it does.

I nod, and focus what little energy I have left on holding my tears back, as Katara wraps me in a fierce, motherly hug. She's never held me this way before – so intensely – and yet it feels familiar. I wonder if she held Aang like that when he was a boy, suffering from the sacrifices he made for the sake of his duty.

Katara releases me and shuffles out of the room. In a moment, she tells everyone who's been waiting in the hall. Tells them that I'm broken and can't be fixed.

I suddenly feel like punching something. I used to shatter rocks with my fists when I had a rough day at the compound, but now I'd only shatter the bones in my hands.

I'm not the Avatar anymore. All my victories seem so small in comparison to that fact. I try to grasp for some silver lining: like Bolin said, I can airbend, at least. I stopped Amon from taking Mako's bending... blew his whole operation up. I stopped him before he took his war beyond the city. I made sure he didn't wipe airbending from the planet.

I did some good. The papers will say nice things, I'm sure, and the history books, too. It doesn't make me feel any better. The muffled voices behind me are grating on my frayed nerves, and I yearn for my old retreat beyond the walls of the compound.

I slide the door open and step into the hall. They all turn towards me; they all have words on the edges of their lips, words of encouragement and sympathy, no doubt. Well-meaning words, but hollow just the same. Tenzin manages to utter something, telling me it's going to be all right, but we all know that's a pretty lie, and I tell him so, as I all but run past them and into the cold polar air.

Snow crunches behind me. I'm tempted to ignore it, to just hop onto Naga and ride, but his voice stops me.

"Korra, wait." Mako says.

"Go away." I snap back.

"I will, but I just want you to know, I'm here for you."

"No, I mean, go back to Republic City. Get on with your life."

"Huh?"

"I'm not the Avatar anymore. You don't owe me anything."

"What are you talking about?" His voice turns from from soft to... almost pleading. It sounds strange from him. "You saved me from Amon... I can still b-... I owe you everything! I didn't stick with you all this time just because you're the Avatar."

"Why else? Because I was a Fire Ferret?" It's a snotty response, I know, but I don't care.

"No, because you're you." He looks down for a moment, then right at me. "Listen, when you went missing, I was going crazy. I thought I'd never see you again, and that's when I realized that..."

He steps forward, placing a gloved hand on my cheek. It feels warm. Firebender warm. "I love you, Korra."

For a brief moment, my heart flutters. It's something I fantasized about hearing for weeks, maybe months. But then I remember where I am, what's happened. Why does he tell me this now, of all times? Does he think those three words are going to make it all better? Does my situation suddenly elevate me in his heart over Asami, or give me an excuse to steal him away from her?

"You're still a jerk, Mako." I say it softly, lacking the venom I feel it should have had, and step away from his touch. He looks hurt at first, then embarrassed, maybe. Whether it's from rejection, or from understanding what he just did, I don't know.

I hop on Naga, ignoring him calling my name as we ride out of the compound and towards the tall, icy bluff overlooking the frigid oceans of the south. On my oldest friend's back, I try to take some solace in the familiar feel of the arctic wind, blowing past my cheeks and mussing my hair. I know I can deflect it with my newly released airbending, but the idea repulses me for some reason, as if I blame airbending for squashing the other three disciplines within me. It's a stupid thought, but I do wonder why the loss of water, earth, and fire freed the last element.

I dismount from Naga, and she whines and lays down. She doesn't know what the problem is, but she knows I'm upset, and the poor girl knows she can't do anything about it. No one can.

I walk to the edge of the cliff, and as the grand ocean comes into view, I'm immediately aware that I can't feel the push and pull of the tide. There is nothing but a great void, and out here I allow the tears to fall freely. I wish there was someone I could talk to, someone who really understood what it's like to be the Avatar, and then suddenly not be. But I was alone.

I'm allowed only a moment of privacy before I sense someone behind me, a slight shift in the breeze. There's only one person I know who can walk along the snow without sinking into it. There's only one person I know who parries the wind and smells faintly of sandalwood.

"Not now, Tenzin," I sniffle. "I just want to be left alone."

"But you called me here."

It's not Tenzin's voice, I realize with a start. I turn, and I do see an airbender, but not whom I expected.

"Aang!"

My predecessor steps towards me, seemingly solid, yet I know he is a ghost, of sorts. "You have finally connected with your spiritual self."

I wipe my eyes. "How?"

He gestures around. "This is a spiritual place, even though it doesn't look like much. There is a reason you've been drawn to this cliff, even as a child. But more to the point, you've been working hard at trying to reach me for months. You just needed a... push."

I feel my eyes watering again, but why hide tears from your sort-of-self? "Like losing most of my bending?"

"Perhaps. When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change."

Spoken like a true monk; it makes me bristle. I need something, someone to get angry at. "This _change_ stinks. I'm not an avatar anymore. I'm just a plain old airbender." To emphasize my point, or really just to blow something up, I punch a blast of air into the nearest snowbank. A cloud of frost plumes into the air before settling back to the ground. It's not really even an airbending move, more like firebending without the heat.

Aang merely frowns a little. It makes me feel guilty, for some reason.

"No offense," I add. "Airbending is great... really."

He waves the apology away. "No offense taken, Korra. I wasn't a big fan of firebending, personally. Avatars tend to have their preferences." He looks at me, and adds, "Make no mistake, Korra, you _are_ the Avatar still."

"I... I guess."

Aang sighs. It makes him seem so much older than he looks, but then again, even when he was alive, he _was_ much older than he looked. "Do you think it's merely the ability to bend all four elements that makes an avatar? When I awoke from the iceberg, I was the Avatar then, thrust into a hundred-year old war. I was just a 'plain old airbender' at the time too. I hadn't contacted Roku, I had no mastery over the other elements, and the Avatar State was a wild defense mechanism I couldn't control."

"It's not the same!" I cry out. "I learned to bend three elements and now they're just... _gone_. I've never even slipped into the Avatar State by accident, and believe me I really wish I had. Back when I challenged Amon under your statue... I could have taken him out-"

"No you don't," he interrupts, face darkening somewhat. "The Avatar State, unguided, is pure chaos. You cannot tell friend from foe unless they do something crazy to reach you. Until you can control it, it's better left alone. I got lucky with it, several times." He smiles a little. "I also had Katara to anchor me."

I think of Mako, like a reflex. He really was there for me, and I know he meant well, but everything is so messed up now. Why couldn't he have come around when I kissed him, back when I thought Asami was just a pretty, spoiled rich girl? Stupid Pema and her stupid advice, now I get to choose between feeling lonely or guilty, _again_. Well, I chose 'guilty' last time, and hurt Bolin and later Asami, and it sucked. I promised myself I wouldn't do that to a friend again.

"I was believed dead, after the fall of Ba Sing Se, you know?" Aang says, and it feels like a mental nudge, as if he knows my thoughts strayed from the subject. I wonder, for a moment, just how much an avatar's previous lives can watch their successors. It's a bit unsettling. "I was struck with lightning, I lost my connection to the Avatar State, and I had _just mastered it_. Believe me, I know what you're going through. When I woke up, I felt like a failure. The Avatar's greatest power... and I had lost it, and the worlds biggest city suffered for my mistake."

I heard Katara's side of this story, several times in fact. She told it as a sad tale of how she nearly lost a loved one. Hearing Aang talk about it... here was someone that understood what it felt like to fail when so many people expected so much.

"All the avatars have put the needs of the world and its people before themselves," he continues. "It's not about whether you can shoot fire, or throw boulders, or make waves, or not. Those abilities may have got you started, but you're a symbol and a hero now. You have other talents, and they can only be taken from you if you allow it."

I want to believe him. I only just started being the Avatar.

"You are the great bridge between mortals and spirits, a mediator between sovereigns, a leader of people and protector of balance. If you must do these things with only airbending, you will. But I trust you'll find a way to undo what Yakone's son has done. I see great things in your future."

"You do?"

"Certainly. Don't lose faith in yourself, Korra. No one else has." Aang gestures behind me, and I follow his hand to see a dark-clad figure approaching against the stark snow-scape. A red scarf flaps in the breeze. He must have sprinted all the way here.

I turn to my predecessor. "Thanks, Avatar Aang."

He bows. "My pleasure, Avatar Korra. We'll speak again... give Katara a big kiss for me, okay?"

I make a face, and as Aang's image fades away, I hear his laughter echo on the peaks.

I face the ocean, to feel the rush of the air. Maybe airbending is an okay trade for the other three? I'm one of five airbenders in the whole world now, and it was airbending that beat Noatak down. The kids can teach me how to ride the air scooter. Airbenders can fly, too. Tenzin might let me borrow his glider; he never uses it anyway.

I can deal with this.

Mako catches up, his steps tentative. "Hey, uh... are you alright?"

I turn. He keeps a respectful distance, which I gladly close to put my arms around him lightly. He returns the embrace, after a bit of hesitation.

"I think I will be."

* * *

My parents welcome me back home, for however long I'll be staying. Dad is quiet and supportive, as always. Mom tries to cheer me up by cooking all my favorite foods at once. I have to admit, it is nice to be home, at least for a little while. They are so proud of me, for stopping a terrorist like Amon, that I feel almost ridiculous being sad.

I used to resent my parents, from time to time, for always treating me like a little girl, and not the Avatar. Now I appreciate them for only ever seeing me as their daughter. They don't see me as less than I was, only as their hurt child. In a strange way, it's comforting that they handle this the same way they might have handled my first heartbreak, or even a nasty fall. With unconditional love, and the promise that things will get better and life will go on.

* * *

I spend the next few days airbending with Tenzin and his children. At first, they're all walking on eggshells (which, I think, is probably something airbenders can actually do without breaking any) as I turn all the forms I memorized into actual airbending, correcting my mistakes in the gentlest possible way. It annoys me, more and more, until I eventually snap at Ikki, of all people.

"I understand things are... difficult right now..." Tenzin says, beginning what is bound to be an even more irritating, tip-toeing lecture.

"Ugh! Just stop handling me like I'm made of glass!" I snarl, cutting him off.

"Okay," Jinora says, before smacking me with a wave of air in the back. The force is enough to plant my face into the snow. "Go apologize to my sister, and we may continue."

"Yeah, 'pologize!" Meelo parrots.

Tenzin looks torn between scolding Jinora and scolding me, but I just nod and spit the snow out of my mouth. I deserved that. Heck, I needed that, and clever little Jinora probably knew it. Maybe things will start feeling a bit more normal now.

As I apologize to a far-too-understanding Ikki, though, I realize how selfish I was being in demanding normalcy. She had her home invaded; she was kidnapped, tied to a post, with a masked monster threatening to take her bending away, and with her recovering mother and newborn brother in a cell somewhere, and she is being patient with _me_. Ikki, patient!

Who is the little kid here, again?

* * *

"Hey, I got an idea!" Bolin says abruptly at dinner that night.

"About what, exactly?" Asami asks.

"To fix Korra's bending!"

I look up from my food. How could I not be interested?

"How about I hit her in _just_ the right spots with a pointy rock?"

The room falls silent. Meelo drops a spoon.

"That's a stupid, stupid, stupid idea, Bolin," Ikki helpfully supplies. "Triple-stupid."

I can't help but agree, but I just turn my attention back to the meal. It's not the first idea someone blurted out. Jinora's suggestion of trying water from the Spirit Oasis was probably the best of the bunch, but Katara had to reluctantly explain that the 'special properties' of spirit water had been abused by a certain Northern Tribe faction for profit, and the moon and ocean spirits ceased blessing the water as punishment. Still, a personal visit to the koi fish was in the works; it was possible they would make an exception for me.

"Well, it worked for Avatar Aang against Fire Lord Ozai, didn't it?" Bolin asks, not quite willing to give up his point yet.

"That's actually a very interesting story," Katara begins.

I stop paying attention, rolling what was left of my dinner along the edges of my plate. When she finishes the tale, awkwardness thankfully cleared from the room, she looks lost in thought. Probably reminiscing about Aang.

I make eye contact with Bolin, across the table, who mouthes a 'sorry' to me. What does he have to be sorry about? He's making more of an effort than I am. I offer a smile. It's the least I can do.

* * *

The next morning, I hit the training yard to find Asami helping Lin into her armor. I've been avoiding Lin. All the fuss over the bending I lost, but I still had airbending. Lin, like her mother, turned earthbending into her life. Now it was all gone, and no one heard her so much as sniffle over it. I wish I was as strong as she was. I wish I could do something for her.

Instead, I freeze, debating whether to go work out somewhere else, but Lin spots me before I have a chance to slip away. She waves me up to the platform. I trudge up the stairs, dreading how this might go.

"What's with the silent treatment, kiddo?" Lin says, straight to the point.

I fumble for some excuse, for a second anyway, but she deserves an equally straight answer. "I feel like a jerk for acting like my life is over, when you're dealing with the same thing. If I had done my job better, we'd both still have our bending."

Lin snorts. "You're a teenager. Your life is over when you get a pimple."

This woman has the most brutal sense of humor. I can't get mad at her, though, not anymore.

"Don't blame yourself." Lin continues, letting up on her abrasiveness. "Amon's agenda getting so far out of hand is just as much my fault as anyone's. You did all you could, and sacrificed a lot in the process." A sigh. "Besides, I had my earthbending for decades; I'd gladly give that up, and my life, if it meant keeping Tenzin and his family safe."

Asami looks almost awed. "You might be the most gracious ex-girlfriend on the planet."

"Don't give me too much credit," Lin replies with a grin, "I did try to have Pema tossed in prison over a parking ticket, once."

The last clasp of Lin's armor is latched into place, and she tries a few simple punches and kicks. I notice, immediately, that she's moving slowly. No doubt the armor was designed with the assumption that bending would lighten the load on the wearer.

"How does it feel?" Asami asks.

"Heavy, but it'll be better once I pry the cable spools off. Maybe trim some of the other metal down."

"Try the wrist batons."

"Wrist batons?" I ask.

Asami smirks. "I'm more a driver than an engineer, but I know how to make something spring-loaded." On cue, a brassy metal rod extends from each of Lin's bracers with a faint, electric hum. The ex-chief lets out a long whistle. "Also rigged them to some equalist tech."

Lin gives me a quick poke in the thigh, which immediately makes my leg go numb from the shock.

"Ow! What was that for?" I bark, balancing on one leg.

"To toughen you up. Also because you've been a huge pain in the rear since I met you, and I thought I'd return the favor." She turns to Asami. "I can get used to these. The crooks of Republic City will be wishing my boys and I were still lashing them with cables."

* * *

Katara finds me in the afternoon, just after I finish my meditation for the day. "I've been reading through Master Yagoda's old scrolls, and I have a couple new ideas."

"Katara, you don't have to-"

"No, no, listen. I've been treating this as a severe chi-blocking injury, trying to repair the damage. But I believe Noatak's use of bloodbending goes beyond merely delivering a chi-blocking strike internally, and actually tricks your own body into believing the blocked chi paths are the way things are supposed to be."

I understood how to heal. I was even pretty good at it, but Katara always said I was more intuitive about it, like she used to be. I never really wrapped my head around the science.

"Um, what?"

Katara shakes her head and smiles. "What I mean is, I may have been approaching this the wrong way. Bolin's comment last night reminded me of Sokka. Sometimes his ideas were a bit dumb, yes, but sometimes they were brilliant, even accidentally brilliant. He always used to tell me to 'think outside the box'."

"Okay, and what did 'outside the box' give you?"

"That I should treat this like rat-viper venom."

"Um, what?"

"What Noatak did. When making anti-venom in traditional medicine, you need a sample of the original toxin. We need to understand how Noatak did what he did, and then create a similar process to undo the change that he made. Bloodbending, but to heal."

Well, that actually made some sense. There was, of course, Katara's very well-known loathing towards bloodbending. She hadn't used the power since she was a teenager.

"Are you... okay with that?" I ask, hoping that she wouldn't lie about it. I couldn't ask someone to break their own beliefs for my sake.

Katara was always honest with me, though, and she took a full minute to consider her response. "Just declaring bloodbending illegal didn't make it go away... perhaps I should find a way to bring some good out of it."

* * *

We return to Republic City. Lin goes to the council with Tenzin to ask that her position as Chief of Police be reinstated. Pema and the kids go home, to help the acolytes repair any damage to the temple. Now it's back down to the new 'Team Avatar', as Bolin put it.

Team Avatar was now staring at the wreckage of Asami's car in front of City Hall.

"She went out the way any Sato-mobile would want to go out: in a huge, firey explosion, whilst destroying a giant walking tank thing," Bolin said, by way of eulogy.

"Plenty more where that came from," Asami said. "A lot of Sato Industries shareholders want me to take over as CEO. The ones that didn't know about the equalist weapon factories, that is. The ones not in jail... with my father."

"Wow, that's great!" Bolin adds. "I mean, not the fact that your dad is behind bars, the CEO thing. I mean, maybe that too, kinda, cuz he was a bit crazy and should have treated you better, but also if my dad was still alive I'd be sad if he was in jail aaaaaand I'm just going to shut up now."

"Congratulations, Asami," Mako offers more succinctly. He's trying his best to be polite, but everyone heard the explosive shouting match the now ex-couple got into, the last night we were in the Southern Tribelands. Asami, for her part, manages a civil nod in response.

"I don't know much about running a business. I just like to drive cars," Asami says with a shrug. "There are better people for the job. Unless... you guys don't need me anymore."

I step forward. Part of me knows this is a test, and I'm a little annoyed that Asami thinks I'd take the bait. After all, she and Mako are over, and she's giving me the perfect opportunity to sweep in for the steal. I won't do it though, it doesn't feel right, at least not yet. More importantly, I need Asami to know I respect her as a friend.

"We would have been toast without your help in all this. You know you have a permanent spot on the team for as long as you want it." I say, and to my relief, she doesn't look surprised by my response.

"Well, when you put it that way..." she replies with a smile. "Somebody needs to be the brains of this outfit."

* * *

There's some irony in the speech Noatak made as Amon, that 'bending is the source of all evil', when he was himself a bloodbender. I expected the equalists to fall apart, and their numbers did drop dramatically, but those that remained were 'galvanized into maniacs' as Lin put it, reduced to only the most extreme fanatics, and their tactics changed accordingly. No more ceremonial purging by a man in a mask, now they simply abducted benders for ransom, or killed them outright.

Lin and I have been cooperating to root out the worst of them for weeks. She would investigate a kidnapping, a murder, or other shady business, then go in with her newly formed 'Shock Corps' or send Team Avatar. The latest mission: rescue some hostages from one of Amon's abandoned bunkers.

The rescue operation went bad quickly. Behind me is a heavily drugged earthbender and his two earthbending sons, all barely able to walk straight. We're cornered, underground, with one way out. The equalists have turned the grapple launchers on their mecha-tanks into vicious spear-shooting cannons, and upped the voltage on their electro-cables to lethal levels.

Mako's hair is still smoking a little, from a failed attempt to redirect a much more severe electric current. Asami had to jump-start his heart with her gauntlet. Bolin is wrapping a torn bit of his shirt around his arm, some kind of chemical burn from an upgraded gas grenade, and he looks pale as a ghost.

It's my airbending keeping the gas at bay now. My arms are getting tired. My side is bleeding from a grazing hit from a spear shot. Turn, weave, curl the air, keep the gas away, always move in circles... I can't tell if I'm getting dizzy from airbending or the blood loss.

Another gas canister is tossed over Bolin's concrete cover. With a squeal, he stomps the ground, and the toxic explosive is flipped back towards their attackers. Three more replace it. I kick them away with a wild airbending blast, but it only serves to spread them around the area, and I'm forced to collapse my air-wall into a spherical shield.

If I could waterbend, I could get Mako and Bolin back into the fight. Bolin's in so much pain I'm not sure he'd be able to safely earthbend us out. Mako is breathing but unconscious. The equalists are blocking the exit. We don't have backup for this mission. They weren't supposed to be so heavily armed. Lin will blame herself, of course.

My sphere is shrinking down. Another spear, a blind shot, whizzes by my head, missing by mere inches.

"We're... not going to make it, are we?" Asami asks, trying so hard to keep a brave face. "It's over."

Bolin looks at her, then at me, and finally at his brother, and gets this desperate look in his eyes. I can see plainly that he's planning on running through the gas, to make some last-ditch attack on the equalists. For a moment, I imagine his skin blistering, his screams. Maybe he earthbends one last time, maybe he doesn't. It wouldn't matter. When my shield fails, we all share the same horrible fate.

He starts to move. I put my hand on his shoulder and shove him down. I won't let it end like this. _I won't._

I turn to Asami. **"No. It is not over."**

I twist my arms and punch forward with everything I have. To my surprise, the air moves easily and violently, churning stone and debris and the burning gas into an indoor tornado. I feel so light, like someone is moving my limbs for me.

I raise my arms. The whorl of toxic fumes is trapped in a shell of earth, concrete and steel.

I follow up with a kick. An explosive burst of fire screams forward, forking out and striking all three mecha-tanks at once, fusing their weaponry and disabling them.

Then, realization hits me, and I feel heavy and exhausted again.

I bent earth.

I bent fire.

Bolin is babbling. "Korra, your eyes... they were glowing... that was..."

Asami helps him to his feet, giving him someone to lean against. I muster up my strength and throw Mako over my shoulders. The earthbenders, more alert now, manage to stumble along and follow us to the exit.

A few equalists are badly burned, and I don't care. Not after what they tried to do to us. The handful still in fighting condition make no effort to stop us. In fact, they give us a wide berth to the cargo elevator.

I can hear sirens outside; Lin can handle the rest. I feel like I could sleep for days. I set Mako down. His eyes open. Mine close. Someone catches me.

* * *

Thanks to Republic City's finest waterbending healers, Bolin makes a full recovery with little scarring, and Mako's electrocution is reduced to just some tenderness and the pungent scent of burnt hair. While the boys argue with a hospital clerk over the authenticity of their council-issued medical ID cards, Asami corners me in front of the sinks in the women's restroom.

"Korra."

I jump a little. "Asami."

There's a long pause, so I turn the sink faucet on, thinking that was the end of the 'conversation'.

"So, what are you waiting for?" she asks, after I dry my hands. She's staring at her reflection in the mirror so intently, for a moment I'm not sure if she's talking to me or herself.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, eventually.

"Not 'what', 'who'." She says, turning to me.

I feel the blood rush to my face. I really never wanted to have this chat. "You mean, Mako?"

"Obviously."

I sigh. "Look, about that kiss... I know it was still wrong, but I didn't really know you at the time, and I really liked him, and the whole thing blew up in my face anyway, and then I realized you were actually pretty swell, and I felt even worse about it. Then Ikki blabbed when I was just trying to forget the whole thing-"

"Korra... stop," Asami mercifully interrupts my rambling. "It's okay. Mako and I just... I don't know. In a way, I'm glad to have found out sooner rather than later, you know?"

I can tell she's putting tremendous effort into saying this without badmouthing him.

"It was my fault though, I kissed him first."

Asami frowns. I almost expect her to slap me, but she has too much self-restraint. "It's not about the kiss. Not really. I noticed Mako acted differently around you. He was warmer. Less... artificial. It was obvious he had feelings for you, but he wouldn't be honest with himself about it... or with me. I can't be with someone who has their attention split like that."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'll get over it, and I appreciate that you backed off once we were friends." She leans against the wall. "If you really have a thing for Mako, don't hold back on my account."

"I'll think about it, thanks." It's all I can say.

"I might have to try and get you arrested for those parking tickets though."

* * *

We float, high above Republic City, ghosts in the clouds. Being outside of one's body feels wrong. I'm flying, but I don't feel any air. I can't smell anything. I'm not even breathing. I'm not sure how I can hear things, but I can. It's all too weird.

"I like it better when you just visit me in the real world, Aang."

He drifts around me in a lazy circle, his robes barely stirring. "It's important for you to learn how to get into and out of the spirit world, and the worlds between. It's another part of being the Avatar."

"Yeah, speaking of which, I need to master the Avatar State. With my past lives, I can use all my bending. Can you teach me?"

Aang shakes his head. "Korra, our power is meant for emergencies. Using it every time you want to firebend will be like using a sledgehammer for building a house. It's too large to drive most of the nails."

"I get it, but I have to know that if I need waterbending to heal someone, or earthbending to hold a bridge together, or firebending to signal Lin's airship down, I can."

He strokes his beard, contemplating my words. "Very well. Mastering the Avatar State takes full understanding of your spiritual self. Tell me, what do you know about chakras?"

"You mean those bladed discs you sometimes see in antique weapon stores?"

He laughs. "No, I believe you're thinking of a chakram. I'd better start from the beginning... have you ever tried onion-banana juice?"

I wonder if my body down on Air Temple Island is throwing up right now.

* * *

Months pass by. The city settles down, people move on with their lives. The Triads require an occasional beat down, and there is still an equalist cell or two in hiding, but at least it's not a warzone. I start to hear reports of trouble in Ba Sing Se, between the working class and the noble elite, and consider it may be time to take my duties elsewhere.

My airbending improves to the point that Tenzin declares me a master. He even offers to do the tattoos. Jinora says they would look good on me, but I think she just wants to know how badly it would hurt, because she's next. I'm seriously considering it though. I'm an airbender, after all.

Tradition dictates I invent a new airbending move before receiving my tattoos, regardless. I balance on an air scooter at the end of the island's dock, thinking about what kind of move says 'Korra'. Maybe I could figure out how to fly without a glider. Or deafen bad guys with an airbending-powered scream.

"Hey, Korra, got a minute?" Mako asks, as his shoes thump against the wooden pier.

"Sure," I say, turning to face him. "What's up?"

"The next Pro-Bending season will start in a month."

My stomach turns to ice. "Yeah... I guess you'll be looking for a new waterbender."

He frowns a little. "Don't think like that, we're going to find a way to get your bending back." He says it with such certainty, for a moment, I believe him.

"Maybe. You might want to have a back-up for your team though, just in case."

"And if not," he continues on, as if he didn't hear me, "I've already started a petition to integrate airbending into the rulebook."

"Really?"

"Yeah, being a savior of the city gets me some clout with the directors of the league. They would keep the team size down to three, because there aren't enough airbenders to go around, but they're considering allowing air to substitute for any element. It's not like they would need to add anything to the court, you know? Just some rule changes."

I take his hand in mine. "That's really sweet of you, Mako, but I'm not sure it'd be very fair. None of the other players have ever had to defend against air before, we'd have a huge advantage."

He gives me a reassuring squeeze. "We'll figure something out. Maybe arrange some friendly matches first, to give other teams a chance to prepare. I mean, there will be more airbenders eventually, right? Some are bound to want to play. Wouldn't you like to help pave the way for their chance?"

I think of Tenzin's kids. In a few years, I could certainly see Ikki and Meelo taking an interest, if Tenzin would allow it.

"Yeah, I think I would."

We sit on the end of the pier, watching the city lights twinkle in the night. We don't say anything for a long while, just enjoying each other's company. For the first time since I came to this city, I actually feel relaxed. The sea breeze laps against the water of Yue Bay. It stirs the sand of the island's shore. Mako idly plays with a little flame in his hand, and the wind plays with it too. I scoot next to him, close enough that our shoulders are touching.

"So, am I still a jerk?" He asks, as he snuffs out the flame and wraps his arm around me.

I lean into him, hiding my smile. "You're alright."

** I could roll on with this idea, Korra eventually getting her bending back by either mastering the Avatar State, or Yue/La pulling her into some spirit-world adventure, or re-learning the bending from the moon/badgermoles/dragons, or (my personal favorite) Katara figuring out how to bloodbend-heal to reverse the damage based on clues that they find re-tracing Noatak's steps. The point is that she'd accept being an airbender first, and grow from it as a character, and _then_ maybe earn her bending back. Emphasis on _earn_.**

** Oh, and as for Mako/Korra, I nudged that forward instead of jamming it down your throat. If you want a long rant on why, check the bottom of my profile. No need to clutter this up any more.**

** Now back to thinking in circles about how to continue with _Spinning Whispers_.**


End file.
